Hot Topics:

Family gathers to remember Lafayette hiker a year after she went missing

By Mitchell Byars Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
07/01/2013 08:34:34 PM MDT

Updated:
07/01/2013 08:35:39 PM MDT

Patricia Wallace, seen here May 3, 2012, in an outfit similar to the one she was wearing when she went missing. A year after her disappearance, her family is still hoping people will come forward with clues. ( Boulder County Sheriff's Office )

It's been a year since Lafayette resident Patricia Wallace went missing while hiking the Buchanan Pass Trail in western Boulder County, but the search for Wallace -- who officials presume is dead -- is no closer to a resolution than it was the day she went missing.

"If I at least knew something had been discovered, I would maybe feel a little bit more hopeful, but the absence of anything makes it feel like it's still the day we lost her," Wallace's daughter Katie Moore said. "The fact that there is nothing at all turning up has been very difficult and frustrating."

Although nothing more has been learned about where Wallace went July 3, 2012, when she separated from a group of friends while hiking, Moore will hold two memorial services this week for Wallace's friends and family.

"I just felt a lot of people were staying in touch with me, so this might bring folks together to be able to share some things," Moore said. "It's more just to be able to talk to other people who knew her. It will give everybody a chance to have what I have had, to gather folks who knew her to share stories."

The memorial services -- Tuesday at the North Boundary Trail and Wednesday on the trail where she went missing, Buchanan Pass Trail -- will be the first for Wallace since Boulder and Grand county search crews called off the two-week search. The Boulder County Sheriff's Office said Wallace -- who was 74 at the time -- "likely perished from exposure or the lack of food and water."

Advertisement

Moore said Wallace was an experienced hiker but had been experiencing minor memory lapses just before she went missing. Friends she was hiking with said Wallace split from the group to take a route she thought would be easier.

The Sheriff's Office has ruled the case inactive, meaning it is not now being investigated but could be re-opened if any clues were found.

Officials said no sign of Wallace or where she may have gone has ever been found.

Moore said in the year since her mother went missing, she has come out from Pennsylvania to Wallace's Lafayette home once every three or four months and has checked in with investigators two or three times in between those visits via email.

Moore is still holding out hope that if she keeps people aware of the case, a detail might be discovered that could lead to finding her mother. Anyone who does have a tip can call 303-441-4444.

"I truly believe the key to this is people out there who have bits of information and may not know it," she said. "It was a crowded trail. There are people who saw her hiking, or saw her wandering somewhere or sitting down. I need to find those people that could shed some light. ... I just haven't found the right people to spark the right memories."

This week will also be about creating new memories for Moore's family. This visit to Colorado will be the first in about 15 years for her children, and the first for her grandchildren.

"I'm real excited to get to show the grandkids her favorite places," Moore said. "This will be a chance to show the next generation where she lived."

Moore said she plans to hold a memorial service of some sort every year on the anniversary of her mother's disappearance. Moore said more than anything, she is comforted by hearing all of the stories from her mother's friends about how active and happy she was living in Lafayette, and the services will be a chance to hear more.

"I was very pleased to find out how very happy she was in her life out there," Moore said. "She made good relationships, and having the joy of being able to get out and about as frequently as she was ... ."

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.

Boulder is pretty good at producing rock bands, and by "rock," we mean the in-your-face, guitar-heavy, leather-clad variety — you know, the good kind. For a prime example, look no farther than BANDITS. Full Story